Tag Archives: education

As I begin my second year at my current school, I’m thinking a lot about my former school, a school that no longer exists. After 45 years of educating children in the community, the school closed at the end of last year. I taught there for four years and my son attended for five years. I …

As the old sayings go, “Teaching is an isolating profession.” and “Every classroom is its own world.” I never really understood those phrases before I started teaching. How could teaching be isolating when you are around students all day? Its own world? There are classrooms of kids right next door! But when I finally had …

Last year I was given the task of finding a 21st century classroom. Being the geek-turned-teacher I am, I imagined smart boards on every wall and touch screen devices for every student. So we visited a few schools and spoke to their teachers and students. Some had iPads for every student. Some had technology over …

I’m a technology guy first and a teacher second. At least I used to be. I have a B.S. in Computer Science and 12 years as software developer so technology has been my life for many years. But the last 8 years of teaching and parenting has changed my philosophy about technology. Building desktop computers, …

Remember the days when you went to the computer lab to do your class projects? Computer labs: imposing places with strict rules and sarcastic, awkward geeks who were supposed to help you instead of making you feel like a total idiot for asking how to print. I remember very clearly because I used to be …

As a middle child, my life has been defined by sharing. Most of my clothes and toys were shared to me by my older brother. I shared many of my things with my younger sister. To this day, whenever something wonderful happens to me, the first thing I want to do is share it with …

I am NOT a Euro-snob…well, maybe a little. In 2003, I got to do three amazing things many people only dream about. First, I flew to California and cheered from the 50-yard-line as my beloved Tampa Bay Buccaneers won their first Super Bowl. (Thanks to my awesome sister-in-law and father-in-law for making the entire trip …

On November 5-6, I went to a conference called Geekend in Savannah. After going last year and really learning a lot, I went again and here are my thoughts. Straight from the conference program: What is Geekend? Geekend is the annual gathering of the geek tribe in Savannah, Georgia. Geekend is what you might call …

The Principal My mom used to say I could get along with anybody. “If the devil himself came to Earth, Mark could find a way to get along with him.”, she used to say. Maybe it’s because I’m the textbook middle child: the peacemaker who follows all the rules. Or maybe it’s because I abhor …

The Classroom From Hell I’d heard the story many times: the principal hands you the keys to an empty classroom, wishes you good luck, and then disappears. Sink or swim. It wasn’t going to happen to me. I’m no fresh-out-of-college twentysomething who had a cushy three-month internship teaching angels. I was a Computer Science graduate, …